Long before badminton became the gold standard in evaluating non-cricketing sporting excellence in India, it was tennis which occupied a pre-eminent place. One just needs to strike up a conversation with an old-timer to realise how integral the game was to the Indian sports psyche.
In the last two-and-a-half decades, however, no sport in India has been dragged into the pits quite like tennis. Apart from Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza, no notable names have emerged on the singles scene. There have indeed been some memorable moments on the doubles circuit, but tennis prowess on a global scale is solely measured on success in singles.
But the second half of 2017 has done something to break this vicious cycle of poor results and low expectations. In just under two months, Ramkumar Ramanathan beat World No. 8 Dominic Thiem, qualified for his maiden ATP 500 event at the Citi Open in Washington and made a winning debut at the Masters level in Cincinnati.
Yuki Bhambri qualified for the Citi Open, defeated an in-form Gael Monfils – who slipped out of the top-10 only recently – before losing narrowly to the big-hitting South African Kevin Anderson. In fact, it was ages since India had two singles players in the main draw of a premier ATP event without having to depend on administrative benevolence.
As India takes on a Milos Raonic-less Canada – bolstered, however, by Denis Shapovalov – next Friday in its fourth Davis Cup World Group playoff tie in as many years, it may have had its best possible preparation yet.
“I think it is the best time to play the Davis Cup,” Ramkumar told The Hindu. “Yuki had a very good run in Washington and I feel confident as well.”
In recent years, Bhambri and Ramkumar have been the long and short of Indian tennis. Both were marked out for great things right from their teens. Bhambri was a junior World No.1 and boys’ champion at the Australian Open way back in 2009. Ramkumar has been a face to watch out for ever since he put one across Devvarman as a reed-thin 19-year-old at the 2014 Chennai Open.
But it has always been a case of one step forward and two steps back. Injuries have meant that Bhambri has had just one complete season out of the six since he began his senior career, while Ramkumar, after the initial spurt, sort of plateaued. Only this year have the successes been less sporadic and part of a streak, and have understandably heightened expectations. Bhambri is close to the form which took him to a career-high No. 88 in late 2015 and Ramkumar is on the verge of breaking into the top-150.
“Yuki’s got to look at his competitors, number two, three and four in the world [on the junior circuit] and see where they are,” quipped Anand Amritraj when asked if Bhambri ought to have done more since that win in 2009. “That would be a good way of judging where he should have been because he was better than them at that point.”
The fourth seed in Melbourne then was a certain Pablo Carreno Busta, who has left his deepest mark yet at the ongoing US Open, and is in line to make the year-end ATP World Tour Finals as one of the top-eight men. In his only match against Busta, the ATP’s most improved player in 2013, Bhambri prevailed, in straight sets. Against another top-20-level player, Lucas Pouille, Bhambri won once and held a match-point in the other. All three matches were in early 2014.
“I have always said that my tennis isn’t the issue,” said Bhambri. “Of course I can improve in a lot of areas. But these injuries.... not being able to play has hindered my growth. Time and again I have proved to myself that every time I play, I do well. I just need to understand my body better.”
Bhambri has set out to do exactly that, coupled with incremental additions to his already impressive court craft. “When I play enough matches, I need a break not just physically, but mentally too,” the 25-year-old said. “I skipped the big tournaments in Cincinnati and Montreal because I played two weeks before that. I have a long career ahead. It’s not always about the next tournament.
“Game-wise, there are always bits and pieces you can add or improve. I now feel more confident being at the net and finishing points. I could always do that, but now I am consistent. Against Monfils, the fighting spirit was impressive. I was playing from behind in the third set. The belief that I had... the way I kept pushing him and taking my chances was a bit of an eye-opener.”
In contrast, Ramkumar doesn’t appreciate a well-constructed point the way Bhambri does. His desire, regardless of the match situation, is to play first-strike tennis. He has the two biggest weapons needed to execute this strategy – a booming serve and a big forehand. But for long they seemed like loose cannons; only now are they showing signs of being well-directed and precise. Also unlike Bhambri, he is a freak when it comes to fitness. The run in the Citi Open was his 16th consecutive week on tour – across continents, time zones and surfaces – and the Masters debut the 17th.
Ramkumar credited Emilio Sanchez, the former top-10 player and founder of the elite Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy in Barcelona, who has travelled with the 22-year-old recently.
“Having Emilio is a great energy booster. To know that he is there for you, giving inputs, helping with coaching really helps. Now I come inside the court more regularly because at times when you are hanging back, you tend to hold back a bit. I have been serving better even if there are a few double faults. And when you are serving well, the game flows.”
In late June, when Vijay Amritraj was asked about Ramkumar’s win over Thiem, he made the inevitable comparison to badminton. A few days earlier, K. Srikanth had beaten Olympic Champion Chen Long to win the Australian Open Super Series event.
“You don’t want to be a one-win wonder,” he said. “Srikanth proved it so well by not only getting to the semis, and finals, but actually winning it. For Ram this is a wonderful break. He shouldn't be pleasantly surprised or satisfied. It should be like ‘this is fantastic but I am good enough to win the tournament’.”
Since then, good results have followed and the green shoots are apparent. Just how well the system waters them remains to be seen. The cue may well lie in badminton, a sport which has shown what meticulous planning and sustained coaching can achieve.
YUKI BHAMBRI
Age: 25
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 77kg
Turned Pro: 2008
ATP Tour W-L: 20-17
2017 W-L: 6-2
Career High: 88 (9-11-2015)
Total prize money: $505,408
RAMKUMAR RAMANATHAN
Age 22:
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 77kg
Turned Pro: 2009
ATP Tour W-L: 11-12
2017 W-L: 7-4
Career High: 155 (28-08-2017)
Total prize Money: $284,182
BIG SCALPS
YUKI BHAMBRI
2014
Chennai Open
Rank: 195
Pablo Carreno Busta (No. 64) 6-4, 6-3
Fabio Fognini (No. 16) 6-1, 5-5 retd.
2017
Washington 500
Rank: 200
Gael Monfils (No. 22) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
RAMKUMAR RAMANATHAN
2014
Chennai Open
Rank: 526
Somdev Devvarman (No. 90) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2016
Chennai Open
Rank: 248
Daniel Gimeno-Traver (No. 98) 6-2, 6-0
2017
Antalya Open 250
Rank: 222
Rogerio Dutra Silva (No. 68) 6-3, 6-4
Dominic Thiem (No. 8) 6-3, 6-2
Cincinnati Masters
Rank: 180
Dusan Lajovic (No. 82) 7-6(1), 6-4
